In order to meet the demand for protection of interior trim of automobiles against deterioration, which has been increasing with the recent trend to luxury of the interior trim, and to reduce the -load of air conditioning, a glass having ultraviolet and infrared absorbing power has recently been proposed as window glass of automobiles.
For example, conventional green-tinted glass has an ultraviolet transmission reduced to about 38% or less and a total solar energy transmission reduced to about 46% or less while maintaining a visible light transmission of at least 70% for securing the vision through windowpanes of automobiles. There is a recent trend that a bluish green tint is preferred for such a green-tinted glass for automobiles.
It is known that a total solar energy transmission can be reduced by increasing the absolute amount of ferrous oxide (FeO) of the total iron oxides introduced in a glass. Almost all of the conventional infrared radiation absorbing glasses have used this method.
On the other hand, various methods have conventionally been proposed on a method for reducing an ultraviolet transmission. For example, an infrared and ultraviolet radiation absorbing glass disclosed in JP-A-4-193738 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application") is characterized by containing cerium oxide and titanium oxide. More specifically, the glass comprises, in % by weight: as basic glass components, 68 to 72% SiO.sub.2, 1.6 to 3.0% Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, 8.5 to 11.0% CaO, 2.0 to 4.2% MgO, 12.0 to 16.0% Na.sub.2 O and 0.5 to 3.0% K.sub.2 O, and as coloring components, 0.65 to 0.75% Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3, 0.20 to 0.35% of CeO.sub.2 and 0.2 to 0.4% of TiO.sub.2.
A green-tinted ultravoilet radiation absorbing glass disclosed in JP-A-6-56466 comprises, in % by weight, basic glass components of soda-lime-silica glass and having incorporated therein 0.53 to 0.70% total iron oxide in terms of Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3, 0.5 to 0.8% CeO.sub.2, and 0.2 to 0.4% TiO.sub.2 as coloring components, wherein 30 to 40% by weight of the total iron oxide in terms of Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3 is FeO.
The green-tinted ultraviolet and infrared radiation absorbing glass disclosed in JP-B-6-88812 (the term "JP-B" as used herein means an "examined published Japanese patent application") comprises, in % by weight: as basic glass components, 65 to 75% SiO.sub.2, 0 to 3% Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, 1 to 5% MgO, 5 to 15% CaO, 10 to 15% Na.sub.2 O, and 0 to 4% K.sub.2 O, and, as coloring components, 0.65 to 1.25% total iron oxide in terms of Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3, and 0.2 to 1.4% CeO.sub.2, or 0.1 to 1.36% CeO.sub.2 and 0.02 to 0.85% TiO.sub.2.
Because cerium oxide is expensive, an ultraviolet and infrared radiation absorbing glass having a decreased cerium oxide content has also been proposed. For example, JP-A-4-231347 discloses a green-tinted ultraviolet radiation absorbing glass having a basic glass composition of soda-lime-silica glass and further containing, in % by weight, as coloring components, more than 0.85% total iron oxide (T--Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3) in terms of Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3, with an FeO/T--Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3 ratio being smaller than 0.275, and less than 0.5% CeO.sub.2.
The above-described conventional ultraviolet and infrared radiation absorbing glasses have an ultraviolet absorbing power imparted by ultraviolet absorption due to Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3, CeO.sub.2 and TiO.sub.2 and interactions among them. Of these components, it is CeO.sub.2 that can enhance the ultraviolet absorption power best without giving a yellowish tint unfavorable as a glass for automobiles. However, CeO.sub.2 is expensive. Therefore, in order to minimize the amount of CeO.sub.2 used, compositions are controlled such that the CeO.sub.2 content is decreased and the decreased ultraviolet absorbing power corresponding to such a decreased amount is compensated by using Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3 and TiO.sub.2. However, the light absorbing action of Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3 or the interaction between TiO.sub.2 and FeO is extended over the visible light region. Therefore, if it is tried to increase the ultraviolet absorption of a glass, the transmission of visible light in the short wavelength region is also decreased, so that the glass has a yellowish tint.